Jose Mourinho throws Europa League loser’s medal into crowd and may quit Roma

Pictures from the final day of the Premier League

Jose Mourinho refused to commit his future to Roma after throwing his Europa League runners-up medal into the stands following their defeat at the hands of Sevilla in Wednesday’s final. Mourinho’s side were cruelly beaten on penalties by their Spanish opponents after 120 minutes of football ended with the scores level, marking the Portuguese manager’s first career loss in a European final.

Paulo Dybala’s early opener for Roma was cancelled out in the second half by an own goal from Gianluca Mancini before penalties were eventually required to determine this year’s Europa League winners. Sevilla went on to hold their nerve in order to claim the spoils and qualify for next season’s Champions League, while Roma were left empty-handed and will not play top-tier European football in 2023/24 as a result.

Mourinho was clearly frustrated after the full-time whistle and did not seem too bothered about receiving his Europa League runners-up medal, which he promptly threw into the stands as he thanked Roma supporters before making his way down the tunnel. He went on to cast doubt over his future at the club in his post-match press conference by refusing to say whether or not he will be staying at the Stadio Olimpico for another year.

“I can’t say I will be here next season,” he said. “I will go on holiday on Monday, then we will speak. I told the owners I will tell them if I start talks with another club. As of now no other club called me. It is time for me to talk to the owners. It is time for the owners to talk to me.”

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Mourinho was also highly critical of referee Anthony Taylor, who booked the Roma boss and a total of 13 players over the course of the hot-tempered match at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. Roma were also denied a penalty in spite of a potential handball from Fernando, while VAR overturned an initial decision to hand Sevilla a spot-kick for a challenge on Lucas Ocampos by Roger Ibanez.

“I must say we’re used to this,” fumed Mourinho. “This is a European final and with this kind of refereeing it is hard to accept. If we talk about refereeing situations, it’s not two or three. It is many, quite apart from the big decisions. Those of us who have been in football a long time realise immediately what is going on.

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“[Lorenzo] Pellegrini falls in box and given a yellow card. Ocampos did exactly the same thing and he doesn’t get one. It’s a scandal. VAR called the referee and shames Ocampos but there’s no card given. [Erik] Lamela, who, by the way, scored one of the penalties, deserved a second yellow but didn’t get it.

“And let’s not even talk about the big decisions. That’s just the small details. I told my players you can lose a match but never your dignity. We lost today but we did not lose our dignity. I won five finals but I have never been more proud than I am today. Happier, yes, but not more proud.”

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